U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing Announces 2024-25 National Team Roster with Promising New Talent

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO – U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing has unveiled the seven athletes selected for its 2024-25 national team roster. Additionally, four athletes, including three newcomers, have secured spots on the team’s development roster.

Following a successful 2023-24 season where Team USA’s Para Nordic skiers won eight medals at the 2024 IBU Para Biathlon World Championships, the athletes are gearing up for a full slate of competitions in the 2024-25 campaign as they prepare for the Paralympic Winter Games in Milan Cortina 2026.

“We have so many incredible veterans of the sport on this team, and we will be looking to them to lead the way for some of our up-and-coming athletes as we approach another Games,” said Eileen Carey, director of U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing. “As a program, we are excited about the depth of talent and work ethic within this group of individuals.”

Returning to the National A team are dual-sport Paralympic medalists Oksana Masters (Louisville, Kentucky) and Kendall Gretsch (Downers Grove, Illinois), who together accounted for seven of the team’s eight biathlon world championship medals in March. Masters, a 17-time Paralympic medalist and the most decorated U.S. Winter Paralympian, is currently aiming for a spot in the summer Paralympic Games in cycling. Gretsch, the reigning paratriathlon Paralympic gold medalist, is also heading to Paris for her summer sport. Masters and Gretsch previously won the first-ever biathlon world championship team sprint in Prince George.

Paralympic medalists Jake Adicoff (Sun Valley, Idaho) and Sydney Peterson (Lake Elmo, Minnesota) also earned spots on the National A team. Both are cross-country skiing specialists and Paralympic champions from Beijing. They both reached the podium at the most recent FIS Para Nordic Skiing World Championships in Sweden. Adicoff also claimed the men’s visually impaired cross-country overall world cup title last season.

World champion Aaron Pike (Park Rapids, Minnesota) qualified for Paris after an outstanding performance at the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon, where he became one of the first four Para athletes to qualify for Team USA. Pike, who won a bronze medal in biathlon sprint pursuit in March, will be competing in his seventh Paralympic Games this summer.

Paralympians Dan Cnossen (Topeka, Kansas) and Dani Aravich (Boise, Idaho) return to the National C team. Cnossen, a seven-time Paralympic medalist, is aiming for his fourth Paralympic Games in Milan Cortina. Aravich, who has competed in both the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games in track and field and Nordic skiing, respectively, is seeking her third berth.

Paralympian Max Nelson (Mahtomedi, Minnesota) leads a group of four athletes named to the 2024-25 development team. This marks the first roster inclusion for sit skiers Nicole Zaino (Brookfield, Connecticut) and Michael Kneeland (Bozeman, Montana), and standing skier Jack Berry (Missoula, Montana).

Source:

https://www.usparanordic.org/news/2024/june/17/u-s-paralympics-nordic-skiing-names-2024-25-national-and-development-teams

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